by J M Bannon
“Please, I want to see him,” Angelica softened and so did the ichor.
“Impossible, for what I need him to do he can’t be distracted by you and once he’s ready, he will be a very busy boy. Let’s be very clear sorceress if you come looking for him, he will be my first casualty,” said Caiaphas.
Angelica let out a vengeful scream and fell to her knees. The ichor around Caiaphas engulfed him then became giant centipedes that consumed his body.
Angelica collapsed and the centipedes reverted to the black slime shrank and back to be absorbed by her dress as it returned to the conservative white lace.
“Tommy get out of here and figure out where we are,” asked Rose.
“I’m not leaving here without you two, who knows what else is going on in this place,”
Rose looked at Angelica, she hesitated for a moment before she picked up the staff then set it aside to make sure Angelica was alive. Her breathing was deep and her face placid as if in a deep dream.
“I think we will be here awhile so at least go downstairs and have a look at that contraption. It is the engine that powered and controlled the gates they used to move from place to place.” said Rose.
37
Monday the 1st of April
3:40 p.m. the Village of San Giulio, Lago d'Orta Italy
"You don't drink coffee?" asked Angelica.
"I drink tea, I'm English," replied Rose. The two sat at a cafe on a steep sloping cobblestone street. The sun was out, and Rose wore her sun spectacles.
"You're an English Lady, true, but right now you are in Italy, so you will have an espresso with me," said Angelica to which Rose made a face.
“Duo espresso," said Angelica to the waiter.
"You put a lot of sugar in it then it tastes like a candy or a hot chocolate. That's how my father drank it and I would steal sips as a little girl."
"Which Father?"
"I have no recollection of the Hume girl's life. Her memories went with her spirit,"
Villagers poured into the streets to stare and point upwards as the Peregrine circled overhead. The little island village of San Giulio in the middle of lake D’Orta had never seen its like before. After Angelica had woken, Rose had led her and Tommy out of the villa and into the village. The problem leaving the house came not from encountering more foes or Angelica’s state of health, it was getting Tommy out of the clockworks that controlled the travel gates. The three found a wire type office and cabled Reidun to come get them. That meant an overnight stay in a lovely lakeside inn on the island while they waited for the Airship to reach them from London.
"This town seems like a nice place for a holiday or a long weekend," mused Angelica.
"If they only knew what was happening in their midst. Before we go back to the house, I would like you to come with me to see a friend. He is the one I want you to help," said Rose.
"I thought I would go to America and look for my son rather than return with you. Caiaphas will reset his plans after I destroyed his body and you destroying his production. Now is the time to find my son before he can react," said Angelica.
"I made a promise to help you. You have a far better chance of finding him with my help than without. He made it sound like your son plays a big part in what he is up to. If young Gerrard has your natural talent, his manipulation of the aether will be formidable. Please just help me with Preston. He will be an important asset in conducting research and it was he and Azul who helped me to entomb Caiaphas' brother."
Angelica was interested in Roses proposition, "tell me more of what you know about this Outcast, as you call it."
"It is some kind of being from another existence. There were four of them who were banished to Earth, Caiaphas and Pruflas are the two I have seen. They have extraordinary powers over both the metaphysical and the human mind. Caiaphas had a feud with the others and had imprisoned them in objects. It's a long story but the Alchemist Guild accidentally freed the Outcast, the one named Pruflas," Rose explained.
"Like the demon at the tower of Babel."
"Those stories are rooted in truth, these creatures have been here for a long time influencing our civilization. My point is this, you have great power, but it is in need of management. If you are able to fully control your power we can use it to defeat Caiaphas. Preston, Azul and I have defeated one of its kind, so if you can help us resolve Preston's problem, then we can be at your full disposal to take care of Caiaphas while you get your son back."
The waiter set the two tiny cups down, along with a sugar bowl. Angelica heaped two teaspoons in and stirred, Rose followed suit. "I'll meet with him, but there is no certainty I can do what you think," Angelica conceded after taking a sip.
"While we fly back there, I'll share my plan. You are an important part of the solution but there are a few things I have to put in to place that you need to know about. After you hear my plan you will see that together we can make this happen; I promise we will find your son."
38
Tuesday the 2nd of April
11:00 a.m. The Guest Cottage at Gilchrist Manor
"Doctor, I have to say, your treatments, in my opinion have had the opposite effect to the one you promised,"
Lord Gilchrist stood over his son who lay on the single bed in the guest room of the cottage. Preston was catatonic, emaciated and pale, a shell of a human being. On the other side of the bed was the Swiss doctor.
"Your Lordship, the case history is such that he was untreated for so long I am certain that the brain has been permanently damaged. There is a growth or scar tissue that cannot be reconditioned with the electrotherapy," the Doctor stated patronizingly.
"So, this is what I'm left with, excuses and a son who cannot walk or speak?"
"No sir, what I am saying is that he will require a more invasive method, or we will lose him for certain. My electro-therapy is a novel technique, but what he urgently requires is a surgical procedure; I have already secured a surgical theater at London Hospital."
"When can he have the operation, Doctor?" the Elder Gilchrest said in somewhat of a panic.
"I have scheduled it in three days' time. I wanted to give some colleagues time to rearrange their schedule in order for them to be able to observe the procedure,"
“Surely you jest!, you stand there and tell me that my son is at death's door and you are delaying acting, so your cronies can come and see you show off?"
"Performing this procedure is a rare teaching opportunity, and since I am the one who invented it, having fellow surgeons observe could save the lives of others," pronounced the Doctor.
"Doctor Burckhardt, you understand I brought you here only to save one life, not become a showman to the London Medical community." Gilchrist felt helpless in the situation. He regretted admitting his son into Burckhardt's care, yet he knew this was the leading mind on insanity, who else could help?
Lord Gilchrist made his way to the door of the bedroom. "Doctor, I will make arrangements for his transport and the London townhouse to be opened. In two days' time, you will cure my son."
* * *
11:20 p.m Weng Lo’s London Casino
Weng Lo stood at the back of his casino near his office door. He was stretching his legs after a day of meetings, reviewing the books, and managing the various interests of the largest triad in London. He was awaiting his lieutenant Jimmy Lin to discuss his operations before retiring home. Jimmy was late and Weng had no patience for tardiness.
He went back into his office to wait. He decided that he could go through some correspondence he had just received from Hong Kong. There were several letters and a package. He opened the first letter and read through it; the message was encoded but his mind was quick enough to decipher his brother's code.
Routine business, the key code for next month's ciphers they used when sending wire types. Together with his brother in Hong Kong and his other brother in San Francisco, they ran the most powerful of all the Chinese crime organizations and did so by being careful and me
ticulous in how they coordinated operations right down to how communications were handled.
There was a loud knock at the door, "Enter.”
The door opened and Jimmy Lin entered.
"Sorry Boss, but I didn't want to come here without the results from the Loom," the Loom was what Jimmy and Weng called his betting arbitrage scheme.
"This Derby will be the first big betting weekend of the race season. With the form set for all the races, betting has picked up; now it's known we lay off bets the money has been flowing in," reported Jimmy.
"Ok, so what took so long?" Weng complained.
"This guy I have working for me, he is a major pain in the ass."
"The Professor," confirmed Master Lo.
"Yes, he is a certified genius, fucking brilliant. He will make us a packet for sure, but he goes off on these projects," said Jimmy.
Weng just looked at his number two, he was tired and not in the mood for a Jimmy Lin story.
"Mr. Weng, don't look at me like that. This is coin in your pocket."
"Go on,"
"So, I show up to get the numbers and De Morgan is droning on about how he spotted an anomaly in the Number Loom, a pattern of some kind. I know he is gonna make me late to see you and therefore I'm giving him the same look you're giving me right now, but he does prattle on..."
"Like you're doing now?" interrupted the Triad Boss.
"Exactly, but I have learned that he is looking out for me and I trust his judgment. So unlike you, I quietly waited and just thought about the shit you would heap on me for being late,” Weng wasn't interested in taking the bait.
Jimmy continued after he saw Weng's mood was unshakable. "DeMorgan explains to me he punched cards to check what he thought he saw and identified a pattern of bets being placed in the fifth race on a particular horse. The Professor believes this is one person trying to spread bets across all the bookies; he can see this because we're consolidating all the counter bets they're making," Jimmy smiled.
"Just get on with it Jimmy. I want to get home."
"Fuck, this is big stuff. That machine gives us the ability to know when someone has fixed a race by the betting patterns. So first off, I can tell all those bookies to fuck off and not get caught on the other side of the bet; then we can place similar bets around town. By the end of Derby week I may own every bookmaker in the country," Jimmy slammed his hand on the desk.
"That's great news Jimmy," Weng tried to feign interest, "Listen tomorrow I'm going to the docks to see Huan, I want you to pick me up at the house at eight to go over there."
"I'll pick you up then. Maybe a good night of sleep will get you to appreciate the work me and that crazy old man are doing with the engine to make you rich," said Jimmy excitedly, leaving Weng's office.
Weng Lo grabbed the correspondence on his desk to put in his wall safe. The package he judged was too big to go into the strong box, so he set down the envelopes and opened the box. Inside the brown wrapping paper was an exquisite black walnut case. The workmanship was from the homeland.
He opened the box and inside nestled in cushioned black satin was a pink pearl the size of a cricket ball. Weng held it up between his thumb and forefinger and looked at it. Then he looked in the box to see if there was any note or markings. Looking back to the pearl he heard a cracking sound and felt movement.
It broke like an eggshell. He swiftly let go, the pearl dropped to his desk shattering and revealing a small lizard with antlers. His heart filled with fear as he remembered the myths of his home country.
Weng fell back into his chair as the lizard grew, "Ying long," he uttered. The dragon quadrupled in size once, twice, three times then once again. Its long gold body wrapped around Weng like a snake crushing him. It continued growing in size overpowering the gangster. As he gasped for air under its weight, the room flooded, filling with a monsoon rain. As the flooding increased the surface of the water became turbulent, no longer a basement office but a winter storm on the high seas.
The dragon pulled Weng under the water and released him just enough to allow a gasp for air but not enough to get away. Weng's lungs filled with water; he died from drowning in his office that never had a drop of water in it.
39
Wednesday the 3rd of April
8:16 a.m. The Cottage at Gilchrist Manor
Rose found it funny to see the footmen jockey for positions as they ran to where the airboat would land. They expected it to come down in front of the Manor house, but Rose had instructed Amelia the new First Mate, to land behind the cottage where Preston was being held.
During the descent, Amelia said, "There is an ambulance at the cottage!"
Sure enough, a White Screamer, as the steam driven vehicles were known, due to the loud shrieking horn used to warn people as they sped through the streets, was sitting in the drive beside the cottage.
Amelia brought the craft down beside the cottage faster than the men on foot could keep up. By the time the footman and Brentwood were near Rose had hopped out, with Angelica following. The two women strode with determination towards the cottage. Angelica had her staff.
"Rose," yelled Doctor von Traube. Holding her skirts up and running to meet them from the Manor house.
Out of the rear door came two large men in white orderly shirts making the Swiss doctor look even more diminutive.
"Doctor, I'm here to see Preston,” Rose requested, politely at first.
"I am not going to let you," retorted Burckhardt.
"Why not Doctor, it's not as if he will recognize them!” said Lord Gilchrist. He had made his way to the cottage arriving after his staff and Lorelei.
"What have you done?" howled Lorelei darting to the door. The orderlies grabbed her, keeping her from entering the bungalow. “Take your hands off me this instant, my father will have you flogged and thrown in jail for manhandling me like this. Let go of me this instant. Is this how you treated Preston you pack of charlatans,” continued Lorelei.
"Lord Gilchrist, I must keep the patient in a stable state while we move him to London for surgery,” said the Doctor.
"Surgery!" Lorelei was throwing a fit, but the two men had subdued larger, crazier people than Lorelei Traube.
Rose turned to Lord Gilchrist. "Your Lordship, I beg you to let me see your son and allow this woman to treat him. She is also a Doctor, a specialist, and I believe the only one who has any chance of helping Preston. If she can't no one can, and you can let this quack drill all the holes he wants into Preston's head and scramble his brain because it will mean nothing, he will be gone." Rose finished.
Gilchrist walked up to Rose "When you see him in there you'll see why I've given up hope." He then stepped past Rose to Angelica, "What type of Doctor are you, at such a young age?"
Angelica looked at Rose.
"A Voodoo Doctor, actually, the High Hougan," blurted out Rose.
Lord Gilchrist let out a huge belly laugh "Now we have all lost our wits," He turned to Brentwood "The ex-nun has brought a witch doctor to cure my son. Why not, see if you can do any worse than the great Doctor Burckhardt? That explains why this teenager is walking around with a wooden stick covered in skulls."
Angelica approached the Doctor and his men, who were still holding Lorelei back. "Excuse me," she said politely.
"It is just this sort of charade I cannot have. You feed his delusions. You, Sister and you too, Dr. Traube are to blame for his diagnosis, you fed the flames of his insanity," the Doctor said scratching himself in multiple places.
“Delusions? Is it delusions you feel? Insects crawling on you? Lots of bugs crawling out of your skin?” said Angelica. All three of the men scratched themselves, the orderlies let go of Lorelei and she bolted inside the cottage. Rose could see no insects on them but was concerned after what she had seen Angelica do to Caiaphas that this could be more than imposing suggestions upon them.
"Enough," said Rose. The Doctor had torn his shirt open scratching and howling, as he tried to rid himself of the im
aginary insects that Angelica was suggesting. At that moment, Rose saw an earwig crawl out of the doctor's collar, "Angelica stop it, now!"
The Voodoo Queen gave in and walked past the two orderlies into the cottage. Rose followed.
In the guest bedroom Preston lay comatose on the bed, he looked as though he might already be dead. Lorelei was in tears wiping his face with a cloth, "Look at what they have done to him," she cried.
Angelica spared no time, she chanted and abruptly pushed Lorelei to the side laying her hand on his chest then placing her staff on his head. Her chants increased in speed and she rocked. Rose noticed the lace on Angelica's bodice danced and moved changing shape, she wondered if it was only her who saw this.
Then she stopped chanting.
"If we are to do as you planned Rose, we need to get him to the Theurgy pool at once and start the ritual; he is almost beyond my help," Angelica stated without emotion.
40
Thursday the 4th of April
7:20 a.m.The Studio Arcana Hawkin’s House Paddington
Rose paced the studio arcana. She worried about Preston’s condition and how long it took to prepare for the ritual. Alfie was just as nervous but he expelled that energy by tinkering with the automaton.
"I imagine this is what it is like as an expectant father waiting for news on the mother and child," offered Alfie Fletcher.
"Like childbirth, two lives are at stake," Rose nibbled on her thumb making quick laps around the laboratory table.
